X1 THE UNCANNY XMEN: Resurrection X
by Dan Bivens
Summary: What happens after the House of M has basically obliterated the XMen and how will the survivors fare against Magneto? And what is Scarlet Witch's involvement? This is Tweaked version of previous XMen tale
1. Chapter 1

**RESURRECTION X**

Chapter 1

Logan never knew real emotional loss as badly as he'd experienced it since joining the X-Men.

First, there was the death of Jean Grey. He'd thought that hurt had been the absolute worst.

He was wrong.

With the death of Professor Charles Frances Xavier, at Jean Grey's hands, that hurt only deepened. Had Wolverine not stepped up to the proverbial plate and killed her himself, the entire world might've teetered on extinction.

As Logan stood on the sprawling lawn of Professor Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, now presided over by Ororo Munroe a.k.a. Storm, thick smoke swirled about his head from the cigar held tightly between his teeth.

Even through that haze of cigar smoke, Logan found it far too easy to read the names on the smaller cenotaphs for the X-Men buried on the grounds of the magnificent mansion/school built by Professor X.

Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin…Colossus.

Peter to his friends. The kid was green, but he learned fast and, in the end, was one of the bravest X-Men I'd ever seen.

Kurt Wagner…Nightcrawler.

The German X-Man. Of all of us, Nightcrawler, you were probably the most religious. The most faithful. And maybe even more hopeful for the future than Professor X himself.

As tears welled up in his narrowed-to-slits eyes, Logan told himself they were due to the acrid sting of cigar smoke and nothing more.

Wolverine continued to stare at the remaining cenotaphs without much unwelcome emotion, because these X-Men had only briefly belonged to the group of heroic mutants and, as such, Logan never really got to know any of them, hence the hurt was a helluva lot less.

Samuel Guthrie…Cannonball.

Rahne Sinclair…Wolfsbane.

Danielle Moonstar…Psyche.

Xi'an Coy Manh…Karma.

Roberto da Costa…Sunspot.

Tabitha Smith…Boom Boom.

Benjamin Russell…Shatterstar.

James Proudstar…Warpath.

Remy LaBeau…Gambit.

Then came the names that, like Colossus and Nightcrawler, tugged at Logan's heart and soul because he knew them all too well.

Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy…Beast.

Beastie, even though we didn't exactly get along, you were one helluva old X-Man…just like me. I'll miss ya, ya blue-furred brute.

Katherine "Kitty" Pryde…Shadowcat.

In the short time I knew ya, kid, you really made me love you like a little sister. I just know, somehow, if ya'd lived…we would've become great friends. You had a lot to learn…and nowhere near enough time to learn it.

Anna Marie…Rogue.

Rogue…Anna Marie, all I can say is… if there is an "afterlife" out there, I hope yer finally at peace. Finally able to touch someone…even though, ironically, ya "touched" everyone around ya every single day that ya lived. I'll always miss ya, darlin'.

"There you are," Storm's said from close behind as she approached riding the winds like the elemental mutant she was. "I've been looking for you, Logan."

"Well, sweetheart, ya found me," said Logan while making certain that tears no longer dominated his eyes. "What's up? Somebody stub a toe?"

"Look, Logan," Ororo said as the winds she controlled allowed her to touch down as majestically as an eagle, "I know how you feel about them. About what happened. I feel the same way. But, no matter how much you torture yourself…no matter how much I torture myself…there was simply nothing we could've done to prevent this. One thing's for sure, though: they died as X-Men."

"Yeah, so you and Scott and Warren keep tellin' me," said Wolverine after flipping away the nearly-gone cigar. "But none of ya are as geared toward sniffin' out the enemy like me, 'ro. I should've known those bastards were comin' long before they got within strikin' range."

"Logan…"

"What'd ya want with me, anyway? I ain't got no classes today."

Finally remembering the reason for seeking out their resident warrior, Storm said, "We have some new mutants…new candidates for the X-Men. And, Goddess knows…"

Ororo Munroe didn't need to finish that statement, as both looked over the line of cenotaphs marking the graves of the dead who'd been under her command and, so Logan believed, under Wolverine's protection.

"No matter who they are or what they can do," said Wolverine as he stalked off, "they ain't never gonna replace the real X-Men."

Ororo Munroe took her seat behind Professor X's old desk, even as Logan stood to one side with arms folded in pure Alpha-male fashion. Eyes narrowed. Senses heightened.

"As you may or may not know," said Ororo by way of introduction, "I am code-named Storm and Logan is better known as Wolverine. And, as you also may or may not know, about a week ago the group known as the X-Men fought off a group of militant mutants calling themselves The House of M…formed by followers of Magneto and Mystique, after both lost their mutant abilities. Save for myself, Wolverine, Cyclops, or Scott Summers as many of you know him, and Angel, Warren Worthington III…whose personal fortune, by the way, is what has kept this school alive …there are no more X-Men. Which is where, hopefully, you come in."

The small gathering of mutants who, in Storm's opinion, were mature enough, emotionally as well as their ability to use and control their mutant abilities, to truly be X-Men material.

Storm opened the hardcopy files before her in order to read aloud their real names, their mutant abilities, and, lastly, anoint each with a power-specific X-Man codename.

"First up: David Alleyne. Mutant ability: to absorb and mimic the knowledge, personal as well as skilled, of any person or persons nearby. Care to show what you mean, David?"

David Alleyne, by way of proving himself, leveled his dark eyes, first, at Ororo Munroe a.k.a. Storm…

Speaking in the exact same tone containing the actual emotion and, also, the same facial affectations as the mutant mistress of the elements, David said, "My mother was N'Dare, Kenyan princess…my father was David Munroe. Both were murdered before my eyes when we were in Egypt and I…I was buried under tons of rubble! As a result, I…I can't stand…to be…in tight spaces. I may command the winds…summon the rain…manipulate the lightning…but grief and fear…are always close at hand…oh, Goddess!"

Literally overcome by such absorbed memories and emotions, David Alleyne quickly shifted his mutant power from Ororo Munroe, now on the verge of tears, to the poker-faced Logan in order to take what was needed from that X-man's turbulent thoughts.

Needless to say, Wolverine wasn't happy with such a psionic intrusion.

"My name is…," David said in the snarling voice instantly recognizable as belonging to the X-Man known as Wolverine, "… James Howlett, but I…I go by…Logan. A name chosen…because of a poor boy called…'Dog' Logan…who, while I was a boy…in 19th Century Alberta, Canada…"

"That's enough, smart guy!" said Wolverine as a Snikt! sound signaled the release of razor-sharp adamantium claws from the back of one hand.

"S-sorry," stammered handsome young black mutant, not yet practiced enough to rein in his mutant ability when necessary.

"Not bad," said Storm with a nod, then added,. "David Alleyne…your X-Man codename is: Prodigy. Next we have…"

Even as Storm fumbled with the files laid out before her, the next mutant spoke up in a voice thick with an Irish accent, "Sean Cassidy's me name, darlin'."

While Storm stifled an amused smirk, Wolverine snarled, "A little discipline there, Sean! What's your mutant ability, bub?"

A smug look quickly appeared on a face framed by red hair, muttonchops, and bushy eyebrows, Sean Cassidy opened his mouth to unleash the smallest example of his mutant ability...

"Okay, okay!" shouted a grimacing Storm, while lifting a single hand in surrender even as nearby glass objects shattered. "Enough, Sean! Enough!"

"Damn!" said Wolverine, as his enhanced hearing caused him to screw his face into a feral mask. "Let's make his codename Loudmouth, 'ro."

"No…," Storm said while thinking on the subject, "I think…Banshee should suffice."

Even as the Banshee puffed out his chest in pride, Storm proceeded, "All right…Alison Blaire. It says here that you convert sound into light energy of various intensity. Can you elaborate on that?"

Pulling a speaker-equipped MP3 player from her purse, Alison proceeded to demonstrate via a lively disco-type selection, which Wolverine definitely didn't enjoy. Of course, it was still an improvement over Banshee's super-shriek.

Having gotten to her feet, Alison Blaire commenced dancing in such a way that allowed the beautiful mutant to literally transform the fast-beat music into solidified light shapes.

"Dazzler," said Storm while writing such upon the young woman's file.

Wolverine harrumphed, "Could've used ya when Banshee opened that mouth o' his."

"'preciate the nod, lad," said Banshee with a nod and a wink that caused a groan to issue forth from Wolverine as well as the rolling of his squinting eyes.

"And, finally," said Storm, looking over the final file, "Wanda…"

"Maximoff," quickly said the lovely lady with a voice that was sexy, and smooth. "If it's all right, Storm, I would like to pick my own code-name…Scarlet Witch."

Storm and Wolverine shot puzzled looks at one another, then Storm asked, "And what is it you do, uh, Scarlet Witch? It's not in your file."

Suddenly, a sardonic gleam shimmered in Scarlet Witch's eyes, followed by a devilish smirk as she stood, with arms and hands in an obviously practiced pose, in order to allow crimson energies of unknown mutant power levels to crackle about all of them in a manner that raised the hackles on the back of Wolverine's neck.

"I don't like this, 'ro," snarled Wolverine, as he allowed the adamantium claws from both hands to extend with a double Snikt!

"I know what you mean," said Storm as she now stood, even as Cyclops came bursting into Professor X's former office.

"We've got trouble, guys!" he said with enough tension to immediately make even the newer X-Men leap to their feet. "Look outside!"

Scarlet Witch still smirked over what her mutant power was doing, while the rest stared out the bay window overlooking the backyard area and those stately cenotaphs.

"Christ on a cracker!" said Wolverine with a snarl as they approached.

"Magneto and Mystique?" said Storm, even as her beautiful dark eyes became white with the rise of her own mutant powers. "But they lost their powers."

"If these are the new members," said Cyclops to his two fellow established X-Men, while tossing a thumb in the direction of the newbies, "I suggest they get ready for their first major battle."

"Let's rock, bub!"

END OF CHAPTER 1


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Just what the hell did you do, lady?" said an enraged Logan/Wolverine while spinning, adamantium claws still out, to confront Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, crimson mutant energies still crackling about her sensual form.

Energies responsible for …

Soaring down from the previously cloudless sky, although Storm's mutant elemental abilities had changed that situation, was a fully-recovered Magneto, warping magnetic fields about his helmeted form as Mystique, also fully recovered, was being carried along.

Just then, the blue-skinned shapeshifting mutant agilely dropped to the lawn as both led a veritable army called: the House of M. The same mutants who had recently wiped out the Uncanny X-Men save for: Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Angel.

"Talk or I'll gut ya like a friggin' fish!" snarled Wolverine, even as the Scarlet Witch redirected the merest fraction of her reality-bending power to remove herself from the mansion in order to reappear within the House of M group.

Even as Magneto gently lowered his booted feet to the grass.

"Where'd that Scarlet Witch dame go?" growled Wolverine angrily. "What the hell did she do anyway?"

"Offhand, Logan," said Scott Summers/Cyclops as he readied himself for a battle by replacing ruby quartz glasses with battle visor, "I'd say she was sent here to make this happen. Somehow, she must have the ability to alter localized reality."

"Ya think?" snapped Wolverine. "What the hell're we waitin' for? Let's have at 'em!"

Before anyone could respond, a voice from the office doorway said, "Logan's right! We haven't a moment to lose!"

All, save Storm, turned to see Warren Worthington III/Angel standing just inside the office doorway, pulling off the outer clothing designed to partially hide the huge, white wings from which the handsome billionaire's son had gotten his X-Man codename. "We either fight…or we die. And I don't intend to die. Not yet."

Wolverine couldn't help but let a smirking smile spread across his face, Well, well, looks like our resident "angel" is more of a hawk. Way to go, rich kid!

The House of M, under the dual leadership of Eric Magnus Lensherr/Magneto and Raven Darkholme/Mystique, prepared to do what they'd almost done before: bring about the total destruction of the Uncanny X-Men.

There was, among the myriad mutants following Magneto and Mystique…

The super-fast, silver-haired Quicksilver, the younger brother of Scarlet Witch, named Pietro Maximoff...

The sandy-haired youth who, once, had been vying for a position on the X-Men, but who's temper burned as hot as the fires he controlled: John Allerdyce/Pyro…

The unstoppable mountain of muscle named Cain Marko a.k.a. Juggernaut, who almost single-handedly killed over half those now buried behind the mansion proper...

A specially helmeted individual who's mutant ability extended to being able to cause the very ground itself to quake, named: Dominic Szilard Janos Petros a.k.a. Avalanche...

Then there was the mutant capable of "cloning/duplicating" himself as many times as he wished in order to, quite literally, become an army of one: Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man...

Then, there was the dark-haired Callisto, whose mutant abilities rivaled Wolverine's in substantially heightened senses and greater-than-normal strength and agility, as well as a healing factor that allowed her to survive more than one life-or-death battle prior to helping decimate the X-Men.

Of course, so violent was this last anti-X-Men combat that Callisto lost an eye to Wolverine that, unlike Logan, could not be regenerated. Somehow the black eye patch covering that now-vacant right eye socket seemed to fit the female scrapper.

"Let's move out!" shouted Cyclops, already sending forth tightly focused bursts of crimson force from his visor-covered eyes as two of the newly recruited X-Men, David Alleyne/Prodigy and Sean Cassidy/Banshee, rushed forth to meet the incoming House of M head on. Just like the real remaining X-Men were doing.

As for Alison Blaire/Dazzler, for the moment, she hung back while waiting for her mutant moment.

Looking much like a cinematic recreation of sword-wielding barbarian hordes engaging in violent battle, both sets of mutants, the six against the sixty, clashed via their respective powers.

All save Magneto, who merely watched his followers from afar, and Mystique, who stuck by his side with the fervent loyalty of a pet. Or a lover.

A smug smile formed within the confines of Magneto's helmet, as he said in a hushed aside to Mystique, "With the final obliteration of these few, the House of M shall rise to become the dominant force over the whole world. Humans and mutants."

"Doesn't seem quite…fair," said Mystique in her multi-tone voice.

"No, it doesn't" agreed Magneto with a shake of his head as he removed said helmet. "Perhaps…Scarlet Witch! Come!"

The reality-bending energies still crackling about her, the dark-haired woman slowly walked over and offered an ear to the white-haired magnificence that was Magneto.

"I believe, my dear, that the House of M should earn its rightful supremacy," said Magneto with an air of aristocracy as powerful as his mutant magnetic powers. Then he whispered his strange suggestion into Scarlet Witch's ear.

Storm, carried aloft by the winds, exerted her will over the thunder clouds gathered by her moments before, then seized powerful electrical energy which she sent down into the midst of the militant mutants in the form of highly destructive lightning. Though several were rendered harmless by such forces, most continued to mercilessly attack her friends and colleagues.

Wolverine, the berserker in its purest form, used his razor-sharp, unbreakable adamantium claws to slice and dice the majority of Multiple Man's "clone/duplicates", sent by their mutant master to overwhelm the deadliest of the X-Men.

Blood from the felled doppelgangers coated Logan's hands and forearms as he gradually got past such flesh-and-blood fodder in order to make some real kills.

As for Cyclops, he was attempting to stop the unstoppable by sending ever-increasing in force optic-blasts…enough to bring down ten X-mansions!…against the ever-advancing Juggernaut.

Banshee relied upon his bombastic vocal abilities to render many of these mutant assailants helpless as they dropped to their knees and clutched at their ears which threatened to erupt with tissue and blood.

Though one might've believed Prodigy at a distinct disadvantage against mutants with much more destructive abilities, his power tapped into a number of minds in order to quickly extract both useable knowledge and skills.

Thus making it possible for David Alleyne to instantly use martial arts moves gleaned from the likes of Logan, Ororo, and Scott, as well as several of the more hands-on mutants of the House of M.

Then there was Angel who, riding the air currents like a majestic eagle or vermin-hunting falcon, began to use all he had learned to effectively fight House of M mutants. Using instilled-via-Danger Room combat abilities combined with his natural ability to fly.

While Quicksilver used his near-Mach One super-speed to combat the X-Men, his sister, Scarlet Witch, had done as Magneto commanded and used her mutant ability to manipulate reality in a very eerie manner...

END OF CHAPTER 2


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

"X-Men attack!"

That bellowed shout not only caused the attacking House of M to look, but the current members of the Uncanny X-Men as well. And all were flabbergasted by what greeted their collective eyes.

Approaching from behind, out of now-vacant graves and overturned cenotaphs, came the previously dead X-Men…led by none other than Henry "Hank" McCoy/Beast.

"Now," an overly confident Magneto, helmet still removed and hovering nearby, said, "it is a challenge."

All hell quickly broke loose as resurrected X-Men joined a fight already engaged by remaining X-Men even as Magneto removed himself, Mystique, and Scarlet Witch from the fray via a quickly created magnetic bubble.

In the privacy of Magneto's twisted thoughts, If these are truly to be the mutants to share what the House of M has to offer, then they must prove worthy.

With the tide now shifted, Wolverine shouted, "Don't think about it, just go with it! We've got a chance now…don't blow it!"

Even as Logan's adamantium claws sank deep into the flesh of mutants who weren't duplications of Multiple Man, Cyclops teamed with Beast to temporarily bring Juggernaut to a virtual standstill as Rogue laid bare hand to bulging biceps in order to drain away not only consciousness but strength from the mountainous mutant.

No sooner had Juggernaut dropped in weakening semi-consciousness, than Rogue, now as super-strong and unstoppable as he had been, lifted the over 900 pound behemoth as if he were a large doll which she, then, hurled nearly half-a-mile away with no visible evidence of strain.

"I always knew she was a worthy opponent," said the helmet-less Magneto as Mystique pondered the logic of what was happening below their hovering forms.

"Eric," she said softly, "maybe you should use your magnetic powers to…"

"Soon, my dear," he promptly replied with a self-important smirk. "Sooner or later, we would have to cull the unworthy from our number, Mystique. This way, the X-Men shall do it for us...before they, themselves, die."

"And then?"

Casting a vainglorious glare at Mystique, Magneto simply said, "And then…we shall do what must be done…before taking over the reins of true power."

Though Scarlet Witch, an Omega-Level mutant like Magneto, could've wiped out all opposition as easily as she'd manipulated localized reality up to this point, she chose to allow the Master of Magnetism to fulfill his vision of ultimate victory.

With a guarded smile, Scarlet Witch thought, Who knows? Once Magneto has what he wants from this narcissistic display, perhaps I shall usurp him as only I can. Then the House of M would stand for Maximoff instead of Magneto.

The thought pleased Scarlet Witch as she found herself glad the Master of Magnetism could not read thoughts as could his once fast friend-turned-eternal opponent…

Professor X, suddenly able to actually walk prior to his recent death, once as physically weak as his mind's telepathic power was strong. And, now, he seemed to have the best of both worlds…even as he noticed Magneto, still absorbed with the continuing battle between the House of M and the Uncanny X-Men, continued to allow his stealth helmet to float nearby within the unseen magnetic bubble.

Concentrating his psionic power as he approached on foot, Professor X's mutant mind told those belonging to Cyclops, Storm, and Beast, Remember your training! Do not let those following Magneto set the pace. No matter how many they are, you are each capable of fighting and beating numerous opponents! Magneto must not win…no matter the cost!

"You heard the man!" shouted Cyclops, suddenly feeling like his old self for the first time since Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix allowed herself to be killed by Wolverine. "Long live the X-Men!"

Even as such was parroted by Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, she allowed her ever-present phasing abilities to let her slip through Multiple Man's throng of "self-cloned duplicates" in order stand her ground next to Wolverine. Her favorite X-Man.

"Keep fightin', kid!" said Wolverine as he felled not only more Multiple Man duplications, but several of the mutant militants as well. "Soon as we get the chance, we're gonna take it straight down Maggie's throat!"

"All at once!" shouted Storm as she remained aloft and allowed her mutant elemental powers to increase lightning activity which, in turn, made quick work of over half the House of M. "Attack!"

Now it was down to the X-Men, those still alive and those brought back to life by Scarlet Witch, against a handful of misguided mutants bent upon forcing their acceptance upon a world, according to Magneto, made up of too many Humans.

"Remember your training and you'll get through this!" shouted Cyclops, even as the proverbial line had been drawn by Beast, Wolverine, Colossus, and Cannonball.

Beast used his enhanced agility and strength, not to mention fanged teeth and claws, to toss back anarchistic mutants. Lucky for him, his years of training and experience, as one of the original X-Men, even before the arrival of Wolverine, kept him moving as fluidly as those half his age. And half his size.

Colossus, having transformed himself into living armor combined near-invulnerability with unbelievable super-strength the likes of which impressed even Wolverine.

Nightcrawler was Bamfing in and out, here and there, amidst the stifling stench of brimstone, while using his natural acrobatic ability, rivaled only by that of Beast, to put quite a few opposing mutants on their backsides.

As for Cannonball, one of the previously dead-and-buried X-Men newbies, though he wasn't very coordinated in his fighting style and didn't possess super-normal strength, he was capable of applying his mutant ability: the power to blast his body forward like a flesh-and-bone rocket, while being self-shielded by said mutant energies, with enough force to plow through the side of a mountain. Much less a row of mutant members of the House of M.

In a blur of mutant-fighting activity, all the formerly dead X-Men, as well as the still-alive members, successfully engaged Magneto's mutant army via coordinated powers and abilities.

Danielle Moonstar a.k.a. Psyche relied upon her psi-plasma powers to pluck nightmarish imagery from the darkest corners of opposing mutant's minds and turning them into realistic holographic facsimiles to distract and even render harmless those doing Magneto's bidding…

Roberto DaCosta a.k.a. Sunspot drew upon the sun's ever-present solar energy, accessible even through the foreboding thunderclouds answering Storm's elemental call, and blast attacking mutants with dark plasma energy.

Tabitha Smith a.k.a. Boom Boom tossed self-generated plasmoids of highly explosive energy that released more than enough sheer force to knock several mutant assailants out...

Benjamin Russell a.k.a. Shatterstar was a virtual one man army due to mutant powers ranging from super-strength and super-agility to channeling sonic energies into Ninja/Samurai weapons of solidified sound, such as shurikens, swords, and daggers.

And then there was Remy LaBeau a.k.a. Gambit, whose bravery in battle was a perfect match to his mutant ability to convert any objects stored potential energy, usually in the form of poker cards, into explosive kinetic energy on a par with Boom Boom's self-generated plasmoids…

James Proudstar a.k.a. Warpath, a Native American with a collection of mutant super-powers similar to Shatterstar, carried vibranium knives for which only Warpath was capable of using in combat situations…

And, finally, there were the new X-Men's capability to combine mutant talents in the heat of battle: Banshee unleashed a super-shriek which Dazzler turned into powerful super-light forms that served to render some opponents helpless…

Not to mention the combative contributions of Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane and Xi'an Coy Manh/Karma…

Even as Magneto, still hovering high above the ongoing battle inside his magnetic bubble along with Mystique and Scarlet Witch, his helmet still hovering near his white-haired head, decided it was time to…

"…bring an end to this no-longer-entertaining conflagration of opposing ideologies," he said as he reached out with his mutant magnetic powers with the intention of sending the once-dead X-Men, via the House of M's original attack, back to their graves.

END OF CHAPTER 3


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4/CONCLUSION

Using his psychic abilities, for which he'd long ago gained the moniker of Professor X, the bald former friend of Magneto shouted, in not only vocalized words but pure telepathic force, "Eric! You must stop! You know I will not allow you to harm my X-Men! Not again! Just as I will not allow you to lead your House of M to the achievement of their goals of total dominion over mutants and humanity!"

Accompanying the psionically-delivered proclamation was an overwhelming telepathic blast that could, due to Magneto's lack of helmeted protection, cause the Master of Magnetism great psychic pain.

"Nooooo!" screamed a determined Magneto, simultaneously increasing his output of magnetic power to crush the unprotected-by-Professor X House of M mutants fighting beneath his imaginary Homo-superior banner. "You…will …not…stop…me!"

Before Scarlet Witch could utilize her reality-warping powers against Professor X, the sheer force of will that was Eric Magnus Lensherr, the man as well as the mutant, created an agonizingly forceful telepathic feedback with painfully real results.

"Gyyyyiiiiiiiii!"

So great was said psionic feedback, that not only pain violated the mind and nervous system of Professor Charles Francis Xavier, but that part of his lower body's brain-nerve-muscle connection was so damaged that he would once again need to rely upon his power wheelchair to be at all ambulatory.

"I've waited long enough!" said Magneto with more than a little destructive potential to tone and partially hidden, via the just-donned helmet, affectation.

Even as he, indeed, unleashed a tremendous amount of pure magnetic force which not only destroyed a large section of the X-mansion's rear, as well as ripping apart the ground, but crushed most of his own militant mutants in the process.

Only the core mutant members of the House of M, in the embodiment of Callisto, Avalanche, Multiple Man, and Pyro, remained unharmed, as the likes of Wolverine, Cyclops, Colossus, Shadowcat, and Rogue, on the ground, along with Angel and Storm, in the air, were also spared injury. Leading to…

"Colossus," snarled Wolverine as his warrior's blood boiled and his desire for vengeance exploded within, "fastball express! Straight for Magneto!"

"Da, Comrade Wolverine," said Colossus' Russian-accented voice, still in his living armor form. "Good luck!"

"Luck ain't a part of it, Petey," was Wolverine's barely understood reply, even as Colossus' super-strength forcefully hurled the Canadian scrapper, razor-sharp adamantium claws out and aimed, directly for the still-hovering Master of Magnetism.

"Eric, look out!" shouted Mystique as the glint of adamantium caught her eye, even as all three, still within that airborne magnetic bubble, turned toward the just-tossed Wolverine.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee-iiiiiiiiiiiiii-rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

Even as that battle-cry left Wolverine's stubble-framed lips…

…even as Magneto's full attention was now on the incoming X-Man, which meant, thankfully for the X-Men, the Master of Magnetism was no longer directing his powers toward those on the ground…

…and as Scarlet Witch hesitated in regards to using her powers to alter the outcome of whatever was about to happen…

…while Mystique prepared to shapeshift into something…

…Wolverine's unbreakable claws literally pierced the magnetic bubble and sank deep and bloody into…

"Magneto!" exclaimed Scarlet Witch.

"Eric!" cried Mystique.

"Bastard!" snorted Wolverine, after safely tumbling onto the grassy ground below.

Suddenly, the fighting crawled to a halt, even as Professor X, once again without working legs, regained full consciousness, and as all turned to look where three formerly hovering individuals had just fallen…

An openly weeping Mystique cradled Magneto as Scarlet Witch looked on in abject horror and while a heavily-panting, perspiring Wolverine stood nearby with blood-coated adamantium claws dribbling onto the grass.

"Y-you k-killed him," said Mystique through ragged sobs, while turning her scowling blue face and glaring golden-hued eyes toward Wolverine, who neither seemed happy over his victory nor regretful.

It merely was.

"If you and these others don't hit the road, sweetheart," warned Wolverine while gesturing with his blood-dripping claws, "I'll kill you, too! Got it?"

"Mystique," said Scarlet Witch, "what should I do?"

"First," sniffled Mystique as she motioned for some of the stronger mutant militants, male and female, to come carry the bloodied, unmoving body of Magneto, "we get outta here. Then…"

Mystique didn't finish her statement. She didn't have to.

Days and nights pass peacefully...

All damage done by the House of M had been repaired, thanks in large part to some of the more powerful X-Men and students…

Unfortunately, some physical damage, as well as psychological, could not be "repaired".

Such as the wheelchair-bound Professor X…

"Professor, I'm sorry we couldn't stop Magneto before he…"

"That's all right, Logan," said the Professor with a smile. "At least, once Scarlet Witch used her powers to 'remove' the House of M combatants from the grounds, those of us who had been dead are, once again, alive. And, for the most part, quite healthy."

"Yeah," scoffed a despondent Cyclops, once again wearing ruby quartz glasses in place of combat visor. "Everyone except for Jean."

Even as he said that he, along with Wolverine, Beast, Angel, and Storm, looked out the office's replaced-by-mutants bay window toward the only grave remaining which, in point of fact, belonged to she whom the world would forever remember as: Dark Phoenix.

Even Wolverine couldn't completely hide his woe in connection with the dead red-headed beauty whom he, secretly, save for the telepathic Professor X, loved with all his heart and soul.

"You know what she'd want us to do, Scott," Professor X finally said with a soothing smile. "She'd want us to carry on. To keep the dream alive. And to protect the world…mutants and humans…from the likes of Magneto's House of M."

After a thick silence claimed the conditioned air for several agonizing moments, Wolverine stuck a fresh cigar in-between his teeth, even as Professor X shot him a don't-do-it! glare, then heaved, "Well, I don't know about the rest of ya…but I could use a beer. Or two."

END


End file.
